Insulating substance.



L. C. BASSFORD. INSULATING SUBSTANCE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22. 1913.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

uz/eniar:

" @FFICE.

LOWELL C. BASSFORD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 GENERAL. RAILWAYSUPPLY 00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

INSULATING SUBSTANCE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented net. 22, rain.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOWELL O. BASSFORD,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Insulating Substances, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention relates to an insulating compound moreparticularly and especially adapted for use in wall constructions, asfor instance the walls of sleeping cars etc., for the purpose ofpreventing the ingress of heat, cold or dampness through the Walls andinto the interior of the car, and also for the purpose of conserving theheat within the car during cold weather.

The objects of the present invention are to produce a substance for thepurpose specified which will be cheapand simple of manufacture andproduction; which will possess the necessary tensile strength to bepractical in usage and to utilize a reinforcing substance foreign to thesubstance of which the body of the composition is formed to give to thesubstance the tensile strength above referred to, and to preventdisintegration of the same.

The invention further consists in the fea tures of construction andcombination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a section of a strip of the insulatingcomposition of the present invention; Fig. 2 a face view showing thefire and"water proof coating for the composition partially broken away;Fig. 3 a section on an enlarged scale showing the substance inthe'dnitial stage of manufacture; and Fig. 4 a view similar to Fig. 3showing the condition of the substance when completed.

In the construction of steel cars and simi; lar structures, it has beenfound necessary to pack the walls with some sort of heat and coldinsulating substance. The principal object of the present invention isto make such a substance out of vegetable fiber,

as for instance shredded hemp, thus producing a substance which'is cheapand simple of manufacture, and of'a commercial practicability in thisparticular field. Ordinarily a substance entirely composed of vegetablefibers, as for instance hem would not be practicable because of the actthat it would not have the necessary tensile strength and cohesiveproperties to maintain it in a compact mass during usage; that is tosay, if it were used in the Walls of a car .the constant vibrationimparted to the car body would pound the substance to such an extent asto disintegrate it, thus causing it to lose its compact formation andrendering it ineflicientas an insulation. It is therefore necessary inorder to practically adapt a substance made of vegetable fibers to thisparticular usage to reinforce the same in some manner so as to give itthe tensile strength and property of cohesion necessary to withstand thejolting and vibration it will be subjected to in use. It is the aim' andobject of the present mvention to produce a substance which will bepracticable as a car insulating substance and eliminate the above notedobjections to the use for this purpose of a substance composed mainly ofvegetable fibers.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. l the substance iscomposed of 'a mass of vegetable fibers 5, as for instance hemp, andthese fibers are pricked or woven through a strip of burlap or otheropen Weave fabric 6. The fabric is preferably placed at approximatelythe center of the substance as indicated in the drawings. By pricking or'weaving the vegetable 'fibers through'this fabric it is obvious thatthe fabric acts -as a tensile reinforcement for the substance, and thatthe ordinary cohesive properties of the fibers are not depend ed upon tohold the mass together. By utilizing this reinforcing strip the materialcan be made from vegetable fibers thus rendering its production cheap,and at the same time it will contain the necessary tensile strength toprevent its falling apart or disintegrating in use in the mannerheretofore described. If desired a layer of fire and Water proofmaterial 7 may be applied to the outer faces of the insulatingsubstance.

In manufacturing this substance the fibers are first pricked or woventhrough the fabric as indicated in Fig. 3 after which they are subjectedto a pressure and formed into a compact mass as indicated in Fig. 4.When subjected to this pressure the fibers will mat together in amannerso as to form abody sufiiciently compact to prevent penetration ofheat, cold or moisture therethrouglnand this combined with the propertyof tensile strength given to it by the use of the fabric will produce aninsulating substance well adapted for the ractical requirements of thepurpose inten ed.

I claim:

As a new article of manufacture, an insulating substance comprising acentral strip of open Weave fabric and a mass of vegetable' fiberspricked through and intermeshed with said fabric, to he. on both sidesthereof said fabric and intermeshed fibers when pressed forming acompacttensiled 1C reinforced mass of fibers and a coating of fire andWater-proof material on the outside of said mass, substantially asdescribed.

LOWELL 0. BASSFORD.

Witnesses:

H. U. MORTON, HENRY SANDS.

